Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 344, Issue 6185, Pages 735-738Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1249055
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NSF [ANT-0424589, ANT-0631973]
- NASA [NNX09AE47G]
- NASA [119983, NNX09AE47G] Funding Source: Federal RePORTER
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Resting atop a deep marine basin, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has long been considered prone to instability. Using a numerical model, we investigated the sensitivity of Thwaites Glacier to ocean melt and whether its unstable retreat is already under way. Our model reproduces observed losses when forced with ocean melt comparable to estimates. Simulated losses are moderate (<0.25 mm per year at sea level) over the 21st century but generally increase thereafter. Except possibly for the lowest-melt scenario, the simulations indicate that early-stage collapse has begun. Less certain is the time scale, with the onset of rapid (>1 mm per year of sea-level rise) collapse in the different simulations within the range of 200 to 900 years.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available